After the Wedding
by nero749
Summary: Sequel to the Extended Ending of the "Green Wing" special. After Caroline, Mac and Guy manage to free themselves from a rogue bunch of balloons, Sue White has an announcement to make about Mac.
1. Chapter 1

"We're not going down!" Guy screeched unhelpfully. He tightened his grip around Caroline's ankle, until Caroline felt like Guy was trying to screw her foot off. Caroline looked down along her wedding dress, along the two men dangling from her feet, down at the ground that was still stubbornly moving further away from them.

"Mac, we're all going to die!" Caroline screamed. The strings of the two dozen balloons she was holding, where cutting into her hands. Caroline looked up at the white and purple balloons and resented them for their unrelenting buoyancy.

"No we're not," Mac replied calmly to Caroline's panicky squeal. We're going to be fine," Mac continued, ignoring Guy who seemed preoccupied with commenting on Caroline's personal grooming habits.

"What?" Caroline exclaimed. Mac had always been a pretty stable person, but even he must be able to see they were all going to plummet to their deaths, just as soon as the balloons decided they weren't going to lift three people any more. And even though Mac's lifespan had been drastically shortened recently, he couldn't be calm about the inevitable pain that came with plummeting to one's death.

"Make a wish," Guy suddenly said. Caroline ignored him.

"Caroline," Mac said.

"Yes?"

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," Mac said from somewhere just below Caroline's feet.

"Can't it wait?" Caroline asked slightly incredulous.

"I suppose," Mac responded.

Caroline looked around her, they were almost above the castle now. The white decorations waving in the wind as if they were used to seeing three smartly dressed people floating next to them. Caroline looked at Mac again, though all she could see was the top of his head, his hair looking almost ginger in the sunlight. After a small pause Caroline caved. "Oh alright, tell me."

"It can wait," Mac said.

"No, tell me, tell me now."

"Oi!" Guy suddenly exclaimed. "Oi! Stop that!" he yelled. Caroline twisted her head around to see what was happening. The groundskeeper of the castle was standing on a ladder just below Guy, holding one of those poles with a hook on the end. Caroline recognised it as the kind you usually used to open sky windows that were beyond reach, but this groundskeeper had hooked the pole behind Guy's waistband and was tucking him - and along with him the other two balloon travellers - down. But that wasn't the only thing he was pulling down.

"Stop it!" Guy screeched as he tried to hold on to his kilt with one of his hands, but he needed both his hands to keep hold of Caroline's ankle. "And stop looking up my kilt!"

"Stop struggling, you're going to fall," Mac told Guy.

"I would if that ginger dwarf didn't keep trying to pull my trousers down!"

"A kilt is more like a skirt, isn't it?" Mac asked, his face perfectly controlled.

"Very funny," Guy answered. Despite the chance of his grip slipping and him falling, Guy let go of Caroline's ankle - with one hand - so he could hold on to the waistband of the kilt in hopes of not revealing his underwear in front of an entire group of young women who would later try his famous 'I'll meet you in Zurich'-line on .

"What was it you wanted to say?" Caroline pressed Mac. Her curiosity was slightly more overpowering than her fear of death at the moment.

Guy let out a small shriek as he almost lost his grip on Caroline's ankle. Quickly he let go of the kilt's waistband so he could grab hold of Caroline's ankle with both hands again.

"Oi!" Guy exclaimed again as the inevitable consequence of his letting go of the kilt happened; he felt his kilt almost slip over his hips. "Stop tugging me!" he yelled at the groundskeeper while he tried to struggle free from the hook.

"Stop struggling or we'll all fall down!" Mac yelled, finally losing his composure.

"Stop it!" Guy yelled, but it was too late; he already felt his kilt slipping down, revealing a sliver of Guy's pants - a white pair covered with miniature Swiss flags.

"Why are you wearing pants with the Danish flag, mate? And why are you wearing pants at all, isn't that a kilt?" The ginger groundskeeper asked. He started to laugh.

"It's the _Swiss_ flag!" Guy yelled at the man. "I'm Swiss!"

"Half-swiss," Mac and Caroline added simultaneously.

"Alright mate," the groundskeeper said. He reached out and grabbed Guy's ankle, pulling him to the ground, while slowly descending the stairs himself.

Sue White, her new boyfriend, and Martin rushed forward to help the three floating doctors to the ground. Martin managed to get his arms around Mac's legs, though it wasn't clear why he thought that would help matters. In the most awkward manner possible, with Mac's body sliding down his own, Martin managed to get Mac to the ground. Sue White's new boyfriend, took hold of Guy's waistband and pulled him down. _And there goes the kilt_, Guy thought as he felt a sudden breeze against his upper thighs. Sue's new boyfriend slapped Guy on the shoulder, as if to congratulate him on being back on the ground, either that or congratulate him on standing there with his plaited kilt around his ankles. Sue White took hold of Caroline's ankles and managed to press every inch of her body against Caroline's while dragging her to the ground. Only when her feet finally touched the solid ground, did Caroline let go of the balloons. The white and purple balloons drifted back up into the blue sky as if simply continuing on their journey.

Caroline staggered away from Sue as she said, "Thank you." "You're welcome," Sue said in her familiar way of almost disturbing flirtation.

Mac put his hands on Caroline's arms to steady her. "Was that the honeymoon?" he joked.

Caroline turned to face him. "It better not be," she said and smiled. Mac leaned in and kissed her.

"Hey, hey," Guy said as he pushed Mac and Caroline away from each other. "We have a reception to get to," he said. "And drunken bridesmaids," he added very quietly.

Caroline looked from Mac to Guy then back at Mac again. Mac smiled at her and took her hand to lead her to the castle. Now the show of the three of them drifting up into the sky was over, almost all the guests were already heading for the dinning room.

Guy was walking in front, his kilt getting blown up at the back by the wind. Martin came to walk next to Guy. Martin was holding on to his own kilt to prevent it from blowing up. "You're back on the ground at least," Martin said. "Even if everyone has now seen your pants," then he paused, apparently thinking things over. "Lucky you were wearing pants at all." Guy glared at Martin. "Well at least my kilt looks like a kilt, eh schoolgirl?" he nodded at Martin's legs - indicating the tiny kilt Martin was wearing. It did look like one of those red plaited skirts you'd imagine 'naughty' schoolgirls to wear.

Caroline watched Martin as he kept trying to get his kilt back in place, because it kept riding up after every few steps he took. Any woman with experience wearing mini-skirts would have done it with a lot more grace. Martin however looked like a weird penguin whenever he tried to get the skirt back in its original position.

Caroline lost interest in Martin's struggle when she remembered Mac's words. "So what was it that you had been meaning to tell me?" she asked Mac. Mac looked at her and then at the guests walking in front of them. He slowed his pace and eventually stopped walking. Caroline stopped as well, looking at Mac and then realising he was waiting until all the guests had disappeared into the castle. Caroline was staring at Mac, his hair and skin almost the same colour in the sunlight. In her mind she went over all the possibilities she could think of. All the things he might say to her once the guests had disappeared from sight. Of course there was one option she was really hoping for.

Martin was the last of the guests to disappear inside, still holding on to his mini-kilt. Mac watch him disappear from sight and then turned to Caroline. "There might have been a mix-up."

Caroline's breath stopped. She knew what those words could mean, but if she got their meaning wrong and let herself hope, even if for a few moments, it would be devastating. "You mean, with your results?"

"Yes, in the hospital," Mac said. "I can't be certain just yet," he quickly added. "But maybe."

Caroline forced herself to breath. "How do you know?"

"Sue White discovered it," Mac said. "After I told her I was dying she apparently went after a 'cure,' though I told her I'd seen the results myself and there were no treatment options."

That did sound like Sue White, Caroline had to admit. She remembered how ferocious Sue's tactics were when she thought her chances with Mac were under threat by Caroline. Caroline shivered a little when she thought of all the near death experiences she'd had that week. Or how Sue had single-handedly gotten rid of Mac's ex Holly, by discovering Holly had lied about her son being Mac's. Or that weird car crash that had almost killed the man whose job Mac had wanted. A terminal decease was no match for Sue White's obsession.

"Then why didn't she say something?"

"I told her not to," Mac said.

"Oh," Caroline said and she felt her heart sink. She knew why he hadn't wanted her to know yet, he wasn't sure, couldn't be sure if it was true.

"Hey," Mac said so Caroline would look at him. He rubbed her arms and then pulled her against him. "There's a good chance. Do you remember Dr. Green?"

Caroline lifted her head from Mac's chest and looked at him. "You mean the one who stole printer ink and tried to get high on it?" She asked confused.

"Yes, that one," Mac smiled. "Well he died last week. From a brain tumour they didn't know he had. And that hadn't shown up on his routine checks, while it should've considering its size."

"That's what you have," Caroline said.

"Exactly."

Caroline pulled free from Mac's arms. "Then you're not dying! They must have mixed up the results!" She said. "That also explains why you have no symptoms! If the decease was really as advanced as they said, you should have symptoms by now, but you don't. Because you're not sick."

Mac smiled at her, but not as joyful as you'd expect from a man who'd just gotten a new lease on life. "Sue just told me after the ceremony, so I can't be certain yet. It might not be true. I need to get a new scan first"

Caroline bit her lip. "We should go to the hospital. Now."

"What about the reception? The guest? Our families?"

Caroline looked over her shoulder towards the castle. "Not having to see them is an unexpected bonus, definitely," she smiled. She took Mac's hand and pulled him along with her. "We'll take the Bentley," she said. Mac smiled and let Caroline drag him along with her.

"Where are you two sneaking away to?" Guy asked. He came running up to them. "I'm supposed to do a speech in a few moments, it would be nice if the new couple were there to listen to it. Otherwise a lot of my jokes won't work." He looked at Caroline in a significantly frightening way. Caroline shuddered to think what Guy's best man's speech might be.

Caroline decided to add missing Guy's speech to the list of added bonuses of missing the reception. "We're going back to the hospital," Caroline said. "We need to get Mac's head scanned."

"As I have been saying for years," Guy said, but he turned serious when he saw the expression on Caroline's face. "Scan?" Guy asked suspiciously, he looked from Caroline to Mac. "What's changed? Are you feeling sick?" It was one of those few moments Guy seemed to really care about something.

"No," Mac said, he hesitated, not sure he should tell Guy he might not be dying. "There might have been a mix-up with the results in the hospital."

"So you might not be dying?" Guy asked, his eyes growing wide.

"Mac isn't dying?" A voice suddenly said. Martin had come outside as well. "You're not dying?" Martin asked, looking at Mac. He almost ran toward Mac and hugged him, but he paused mid-way during the hug when he saw Mac looking at Caroline as if asking for help.

"We don't know yet, Martin," Caroline said as she loosened Martin's hands from Mac's shoulders.

Martin let go and looked at the group. He seemed to be putting things together. "Where are you going?"

"To the hospital, but you can't come," Guy said and he pushed Martin back in the direction of the castle.

"Why not?" Martin whined. "I want to come too!"

"There's a height restriction," Guy said as he gave Martin another shove.

"Martin can come," Mac said. Guy glared at him.

Martin's face lit up, until Guy gave him another shove. "By the way, does anybody know where Boycey went off to?" Martin asked. "We were supposed to do a routine together." Martin suddenly looked shocked. "Oh no, now I've ruined it!"

Caroline remembered the mime Martin had done at Angela's funeral and she was pretty sure she could add the fact that she would never see what Martin had planned for her wedding, to her surprisingly long list of added bonuses.

"We're not bringing Boyce as well," Guy said, not using the nickname Martin had for the guy.

They reached the car park where the most flashy car there was a white sports car with an open roof and a huge sign saying 'Just Married.'

"We're not going to fit in there," Caroline said, slightly disappointed.

"We'll just take the caterer's van," Guy said.

"We can't do that," Caroline said.

"I'll leave a note," Guy said reassuringly, though Caroline didn't take it that way. "Besides, you didn't see what they did to the food in there, they deserve to walk back home," Guy added.

Caroline looked at Mac and he just shrugged. "Fine," she said.

Guy walked over to the driver's side.

"Let's not," Mac said as he pushed past Guy.

"What?" Guy asked, slightly insulted.

"You know what," Mac said, narrowing his eyes.

Guy grumbled something, but walked over to the passenger's side anyway.

"You'll have to get in back Martin," Caroline said.

Martin didn't move, instead he was just staring at the van, looking pale as death itself.

"Martin?" Caroline asked.

"I don't like vans," Martin said.

"All right," Caroline said slowly, not understanding Martin's fear.

Guy however knew why Martin feared white vans. "Get in the back, shorty," Guy said helpfully. "We're hardly going off a cliff - again."

Martin wasn't convinced.


	2. Chapter 2

Caroline was sitting up front, wedged in between Mac and Guy. Her wedding dress was filling almost the entire cabin, though she tried to push it away from the window to allow Mac to see where he was going. Guy meanwhile was being a bit too helpful with Caroline's dress. In the back Martin was rocking back and forth with his arms locked around his knees, staring into space.

"So why didn't you tell us sooner?" Guy asked. "Afraid Caroline wouldn't marry you if you weren't dying?"

Caroline slapped Guy's arm. "I would always have married Mac," she said.

"You almost married me," Guy said, grinning at Caroline and going in for a kiss.

Caroline pushed Guy's face away. "I also almost became a clown," Caroline retorted. Guy's smile vanished.

Mac had been strangely quiet the past hours. Caroline didn't push it. She just wanted to be at the hospital already, the stress of the past month was getting to her. If it turned out there hadn't been a mix-up, Mac would be dead within weeks, if not sooner. There really was no way to know for sure when it would happen, but one morning Caroline would wake up to find Mac lying next to her, dead.

They finally reached the hospital. Mac parked the van in his parking space, that he normally never used. The building was boring and cold in a way, but it looked like home to Caroline. She hadn't worked there for that long, but she already hated the thought of leaving it. But she would if Mac did die. She wouldn't be able to work in those corridors if he died.

Guy got out of the van first and practically dragged Caroline out of the van. "Thank you, I think," Caroline said to Guy. Mac went to the back of the van and opened the doors. "Martin?" he asked as he saw the frightened Martin Dear sitting there, still rocking. "We're here."

Slowly Martin turned to look at Mac. "We didn't go over a cliff?" he asked slowly. And he seemed genuinely surprised when Mac said, "No." Martin got out of the van and relaxed a little.

Caroline appeared at Mac's side and he took her hand. They looked slightly more formal than normally, with Caroline still wearing her white and purple wedding dress and Mac still wearing his tuxedo.

As they reached the entrance, Boyce came running out. "Mac? Caroline?" he asked, clearly surprised to see them there. "Did you decide to hold the reception in the hospital?" Boyce asked, narrowing his eyes and almost smiling.

"Mac isn't dying!" Martin exclaimed as he caught up with Mac and Caroline.

"Hey Marty," Boyce said, but then he noticed Martin's kilt. "Why are you still wearing that?" Boyce asked and he started to laugh, his laugh got even louder as Guy appeared next to Martin.

"It's not funny, it's a kilt," Guy said.

"Why haven't you changed?" Boyce asked in between laughs. "Into something traditionally Swiss."

"I am Swiss, but that doesn't mean I can't wear a kilt."

"No it certainly doesn't," Boyce said. "You look very sexy Dr. Secretan," Boyce said in his familiar mockingly seductive voice. Guy pressed his lips together as he pushed past Boyce to the entrance.

"Why did you disappear? I'd already got the podium set up," Martin asked Boyce, but he didn't wait for an answer. "We have to check Mac's test results," Martin enthusiastically continued. "Are you coming?"

Boyce pulled himself together. "I can't," he said. I have to rent a boat."

"Sorry?" Caroline asked.

"Someone spotted Statham," Boyce said and he walked past the three dressy figures. He spun around to look at Mac, without stopping he said, "Good luck."

Caroline and Mac looked at each other and then both shrugged.

"Good, hurry up," Guy said as Mac, Caroline and Martin reached him. "I've already got the MRI freed up."

"How did you do that?" Caroline asked, knowing all too well how long the waiting lists were. Even an 'emergency' would take forever to get in.

Guy raised his eyebrows and pressed his lips together. "Let's not say just yet."

Caroline really didn't like the sound of that, but she wasn't in the mood to question Guy. Mac remained quiet as they followed Guy down the corridor, towards the elevators.

In silence they reached the MRI room. As Mac got changed, Guy, Caroline and Martin went into the small glass room within the MRI room and Caroline started to punch buttons and making adjustments.

"I always fail this on the test," Martin said gloomily.

"I'm sure you'll pass next time," Caroline said slightly irritated. Then something occurred to her. "Exactly how many times have you taken it now?" she asked, genuinely curious this time.

"Three times," Martin said.

"How many times are you aloud to take it?" Guy asked.

Martin shrugged.

"How many takes do you think you'll need to pass?" Guy asked, grinning now.

Martin shrugged again.

Mac entered the room, dressed in a hospital gown. He leaned against the doorpost of the cubicle, looking slightly bored as he usually did when Guy was pestering Martin.

"Oh cheer up," Guy said and he slapped Martin on the shoulder, causing the frail Martin to lung forward. "Maybe it's just like a driving test, if you fail more than five times, they let you pass automatically as long as you don't hit anyone."

"That's not how a driving test works, is it?" Caroline asked.

"Maybe not here, I took mine in Switzerland," Guy said.

"So is that what happened to you? You failed over five times and they let you pass out of pity?" Mac asked, spotting an opportunity.

"Maybe," Guy said as he suddenly refused to look anyone in the eye. He moved uncomfortably in his chair.

"Shall we get started?" Mac asked, he walked over to the MRI. Caroline got up from her chair and left the glass cubicle, running to Mac. Martin wanted to sit down on Caroline's chair, but Guy made a sound that told him he wasn't aloud, so Martin sat back down on the floor.

"Nervous?" Caroline asked Mac.

"No, you?" Mac asked.

"Terrified," Caroline said, smiling weakly.

"Yeah, me too," Mac said, smiling back at her.

Caroline put her arms around Mac and held on to him. They stood there like that, until Guys voice boomed through the room. "All right, that's enough. We have to hurry, before the police gets here."

"The police?" Caroline asked surprised, her arms still around Mac.

"I'll explain later," Guy said, "let's just hurry it up, okay?" The door of the cubicle closed behind him.

Caroline looked at Mac. "Mac, if you are… still, you know…"

"Then nothing has changed," Mac cut her off.

"Yes, but I just want to say…"

"It'll be alright," Mac said and he kissed Caroline on the forehead. "I'll see you in ten minutes, Mrs. Mac."

Caroline smiled and let go of Mac, she took his hands in hers and squeezed them. "Alright, Mr. Mac."

Caroline's eyes were fixed on the screen, waiting for the imaging to show her what she was after. Her hands were holding on to the edge of the desk. "Quite some hands you have on you there," Guy said.

Caroline glared at him. "That wasn't really a very good innuendo now was it?" she asked.

"No it wasn't," Guy said. "But I wasn't trying for that. I just meant you have a man's hands."

Caroline punched Guy in the arm and he let out an exaggerated exclamation of pain. Caroline looked at him, preparing to glare at Guy, but didn't when she saw his face. It was one of the rare occasions Guy actually had a serious expression on his face. "We're all worried," she said empathetically.

"At least we're all together, right, brother?" Martin raised himself on his knees and shuffled over to Guy to put his arm around him. Or try at least.

Guy slapped Martin's arm away. "_Half_-brother," he corrected him. "And you obviously didn't get the good half."

"Well at least I didn't sleep with…" Martin said, suddenly angry. But he stopped himself from finishing the sentence. Not just out of kindness to Guy, but also because he really didn't want to think about what had happened. Still, both brothers got a look of horror on their face and Caroline one of mixed disgust and amusement.

Mac said something Caroline couldn't make out. She took the microphone that let you speak to the patient and held down the button so she could speak to Mac. "It won't be long before we know now," she said because she didn't really know what to say.

"I know," Mac answered.

"Ah yes, I sometimes forget you're a doctor too," she said half-mockingly.

"He's just a surgeon," Guy mumbled.

"That's impressive, isn't it?" Martin asked hesitantly. "I mean, isn't that hard?"

"No," Guy said with the voice of a petulant boy. "Besides, _you__'__re_ not a doctor at all."

Martin sat back down, mopping.

Caroline glared at Guy. Her hands were now clutched around the microphone, Guy noticed. "I'm sure he'll be alright," Guy said to ease Caroline.

"No you're not," Caroline said, "you're just as nervous as I am."

Guy sighed. This was one of those rare occasions when he was being genuinely kind just for the benefit of another human being. "It would be a ridiculously big coincidence if two members of staff had the same type of brain cancer, so it's probably…"

"You know just as well as I do how many people die of cancer," Caroline said. Guy thought he really didn't. "And how many people work at the hospital." Guy thought he certainly knew how many women worked there. Caroline looked at the white machine that looked like a huge loo roll that had been glued to the floor and made to sound like a tiny yet engine. "It wouldn't be that much of a coincidence," she said.

Guy looked at Caroline. "Well then, if Mac does have cancer, if that were his results after all, we'll just find a cure."

"I thought he said there weren't any treatments that would work?" Martin asked from somewhere at Guy's feet.

"Well maybe he overlooked something." Guy said, glaring at Martin and his tone suggesting he was really saying, 'shut up Martin.'

"He didn't," Caroline said. She appreciated Guy's attempts at making her feel better, but there was no point now in denying the reality of Mac's situation. "Almost every senior doctor in this hospital has looked at those results and they all agree there's nothing they can do. Even I looked at them and I know for sure that if this scan proofs those really were Mac's results, he's dead. He'll die within weeks."

They were quiet for a little while. Martin suddenly rose to his knees again and shuffled to the desk so he could look at the screen. "We're there," he said, which seemed like an odd way to phrase it. "The next slices will show us the results!" He sounded very optimistic suddenly. "Tell Mac."

"I already know," Mac said from inside the loo-roll machine; he had to practically yell to be heard by the group.

Caroline looked startled, but quickly realised that while she had been gripping the microphone in her hands, she'd also been holding down the button unintentionally. Which meant Mac had also heard her say that she thought his situation was hopeless. Her cheeks flushed.

Caroline raised the microphone to her lips. "Mac, what I said earlier, about you… dying if this…"

"It's nothing I didn't already know."

"Yes, but I just wanted to say…"

Mac cut her off again. "It's fine, I'm fine, if the…"

"Just let me finish alright?" Caroline interrupted Mac, slightly annoyed. "What I wanted to say - and what I wanted to say before - if the results were right, if you are… dying, I just wanted to say I won't go. I'll stay with you until the end. Whatever happens, whatever way the disease will progress, however it will end. I will stay."

It remained quiet after that. Caroline was staring at the machine, Guy was staring at Caroline and Martin didn't know where to look.

"Thank you," Mac said, almost too soft to hear.

Caroline pressed down the button again, but didn't know what to say. She was just about to start rattling nonsense, when Martin suddenly let out a high-pitched squeal. "What?" Guy asked annoyed while shaking his ear as if to get the ringing out.

Martin squealed again. "Stop that!" Guy said and he was about to hit Martin when Caroline distracted him by tugging at his arm. "What?" he asked, looking at her hands around his left arm. Caroline nodded at the screen. Then he saw it.

"Yes!" he exclaimed and he jumped up from his chair and punched the air. Martin got to his feet and did a little jump followed by another squeal. Caroline got up from her chair and rushed out of the glass cubicle. "You're fine!" she screamed while she rushed at the machine. She pulled Mac out of the machine and he almost lost his balance as she first dragged him to his feet and then threw herself against him. She hugged him and then met his eyes again, "You're fine! You're not dying!"

Mac hardly registered the news consciously. And then it hit him. He kissed Caroline, one hand in her hair, his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him.

Suddenly the door to the room opened and a man dressed in what looked like a suit made out of an ugly brown sofa, entered. On his head he had a weird safety helmet with an abbreviation written on it. Caroline didn't know what it stood for. She looked at the man and then back at Mac again.

Guy came rushing out of the cubicle. "It's all right, it's all right." He was waving his arms at the man with the sofa suit. "We found the bomb and got rid of it." Guy turned to Caroline and Mac and winked elaborately. "Everything is fine now," Guy continued, speaking to the man. "In fact we were just celebrating, right, Caroline?" Caroline didn't respond.

"Let's all just go to the canteen so we can recover from all the excitement," Guy said as he turned the man around and started pushing him out of the door. Guy looked back at Caroline and Mac and winked again.

Martin waited until Guy and the man disappeared from the room, before he rushed out of the cubicle to hug both Caroline and Mac. He tried to say something, but failed and instead hugged Mac again.

While being squeezed to death by Martin, Mac managed to say, "Go on, we'll meet you in the canteen." Martin let go and smiled widely before disappearing after Guy.

Mac looked at Caroline. "So, it seems you won't be a widow after all," he said.

"Guy will be very disappointed," Caroline said.

"He'll get over it. The Swiss are a resilient people."

Caroline took Mac's hand and led him out of the room, Mac used his other hand to make sure the back of the hospital gown he was wearing stayed closed.


	3. Chapter 3

The canteen was crowded as usual, as Mac - now dressed in scrubs - and Caroline - still in her wedding dress - made their way to the table where Guy and Martin were sitting - both still in kilts.

"Do you want to get back to the reception?" Guy asked.

"I doubt anyone would still be there," Caroline said.

"I wouldn't be too sure, there was an open bar," Mac said.

Caroline laughed a little. "I think I prefer this, she said as she leaned back against Mac's shoulder and put her feet up on the table in front of her. Martin mimicked her. "Oh please don't do that Martin," Caroline said as she averted her eyes, "it's too much of a view." Martin put his feet back on the ground, and his tiny kilt - that covered just his upper thighs - fell back into place.

The doors of the canteen opened and Boyce appeared in the opening, just behind him were Alan Statham and Joanna Claw, both wrapped in blankets, both with wet hair. Boyce spotted Mac and Caroline's table and headed for it.

"Are you still wearing the skirt then?" Boyce asked as he sat down next to Martin.

"It's a kilt," Martin corrected him.

"Not at that length it isn't," Boyce said.

"What happened to you two?" Caroline asked, looking at Statham and Joanna.

"Oh I picked them up about two miles off the coast."

"What were you doing there?" Martin asked, slightly concerned. He looked at his mother.

"Attempting to swim the channel?" Mac asked Statham, a small smirk appeared on his face, as he failed to oppress it.

Statham began to stutter an explanation, Joanna glared at him. She would've told him to shut up, but there was a limit on how many times she was willing to say that. And frankly, she was exhausted from the accidental killing spree she'd been on with Alan. "Well, get me a chair then," she barked at the still stammering Alan. Statham looked around him and quickly got a chair for Joanna and himself.

Martin was staring at the small TV that was hanging from the wall. "It's on again," he said to Guy.

"What's on?"

"That report, that news report."

"What news report?" Joanna asked tensely. Caroline narrowed her eyes while trying to understand why Joanna suddenly looked so unnerved.

Martin turned to his mother. "Well, apparently Britain now has its own Bonnie and Clive story."

"Bonnie and Clyde," Mac corrected Martin.

"Yes, well there was this couple who apparently killed at least three people before they got killed in an explosion."

The screen now showed the blackened wreck of what seemingly had once been a mobile home. Martin continued, "they had put all sorts of well, _strange_ stuff in the tank and it just turned the thing into a bomb." Statham was looking nervously at Joanna who just looked away at one of the canteen's windows.

"Well, I'm sure I, he, _this person _thought he had put the right stuff in. In fact I definitely had! Well, not me of course, but he, him, the guy, the _man_ who did. It was on a science program… a _real_ science program, not that I know, but it was. Besides, you can't expect a radiologist to also be an… an… an… engineer, not that I, or he, or indeed him who did that, was a radiologist. Well maybe he was, he could've been but I wouldn't know, because I certainly am the, or rather am _not_ the… the… the… murderer. Or indeed murderer… er… er… es. Murderes, it could be a woman, might not be a radiologist at all," Statement looked nervously around the group, his whole body still twitching like it had as he delivered his speech.

"Just shut up, will you," Joanna said.

Someone switched off the TV. "Oi! We were watching that!" Guy hollered at the student who had switch the thing off. He threw an empty plastic cup at the student. The student made an obscene gesture and Guy mirrored it before sitting back down.

"You could always entertain us, Dr. Statham," Boyce said, looking at the weird blanket Statham was dressed in, "a striptease maybe?"

"I am not, nor, indeed I have I_ ever been _and would never be… or not likely be a male stripper. _Or_ a female stripper, before you suggest that I am… or was or might in fact be…" Statham kept rattling on, but Boyce seemed to be the only one paying attention to him.

"Why are you wearing a wedding dress?" Joanna suddenly asked Caroline.

"It's our wedding day," Mac said.

"Is it really," Joanna looked at Mac and Caroline and then at her two sons. "And I suppose that's why you two are dressed in skirts?"

"Mum, they're not…" Martin said, but as he saw his mother glaring at him, he knew he had made a fatal error in calling her 'mum' anywhere someone could hear it.

"HR should be informed of all changes in personal situations," Joanna said, clearly not really interested.

"I'll go down there tomorrow then," Mac said unmoved by Joanna's tone.

"Oh, I wouldn't," Guy said. "I've heard that apparently they've gone savage."

"Who's gone savage?" Caroline asked.

"HR. The whole department," Guy said.

"Oh, it isn't that bad," Martin said.

"You've been down there?" Guy asked, almost sounding impressed.

"Yeah," Martin said and his cheeks suddenly flushed.

"What happened?" Guy asked eagerly.

"Er… they did things to me," Martin admitted.

"Tell me," Guy said eagerly, pulling his chair closer to Martin's.

Joanna got out a packet of cigarettes, though God only knew where she'd been keeping them. She lighted one of them.

"Smoking isn't allowed inside," Caroline said.

Joanna turned to look at her. "Why, afraid you'll get sick?" Joanna asked.

"Not today," Mac mumbled under his breath and he smiled.

Caroline shrugged and decided the argument with Joanna wasn't worth it. She moved in her seat so she could look at Mac, while still resting against his chest. "What a wedding this has been," she said.

"Yes, it has been quite exciting."

"Maybe we should have another one, a proper one," Caroline suggested.

"Hmm, no, I quite liked it."

Caroline smiled. "Me too. Even though I never got to have any cake."

Mac laughed. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face to his, then he kissed her. "We'll get some tomorrow."

"That's all right, there's no rush," Caroline said. "We've got all the time of the world to redo the parts of the wedding that didn't go right."

"The wedding isn't over yet," Mac said, "we still have the wedding night."

Caroline smiled at him and looked out of the window, the light was already changing. "Let's go home," she said.

"If you want," Mac said coolly.

"As long as you don't think they'll miss us," Caroline said and she glanced around the two tables the group now occupied. Boyce was grinning at Statham who was still rattling on about not being either a male or female stripper. Guy was apparently enthralled with Martin's tale of his adventures in Human Resources. And Joanna was enjoying her third cigarette in as many minutes.

"I don't think they will," Mac said, smiling at the group. He got up and held out his hand to Caroline.

"Probably not. They seem fine," Caroline said as she took Mac's hand.

It took a lot of effort to weave through the tables and chairs while wearing a wedding dress, but she managed and they both reached the doors. As they stepped outside, Caroline noticed Mac's bike parked in-between two expensive looking cars, though she had no idea how it had gotten there.

Mac lifted the saddle and took out two helmets. Caroline wrinkled her nose at the helmets. "I don't want to have helmet hair on my wedding day," she said.

"I'm sure you'll still look beautiful," Mac said as he put down the two helmets.

"Good answer," Caroline said and she smiled.

Mac cupped Caroline's face with his hands and leaned in. Caroline leaned in as well, but just before their lips met, Mac pulled back. "Remember our first kiss?" he asked.

"I did, eventually," Caroline said. She had been particularly drunk that night.

"As did I," Mac joked. Though his memory loss hadn't been caused by extensive quantities of alcohol, but rather a coma.

They both laughed.

"I still think it was rather weird of you to kiss someone who'd just been sick," Caroline said.

Mac shrugged his shoulders. "I thought it might be my only change."

"Because I was drunk, or because of Guy?"

"A little bit of both," Mac answered.

Caroline smiled but then became serious. "It was never going to be Guy," she said. "It was just… he was always there, so… But it was never going to be Guy. Not after I knew who you were, really."

"I know," Mac said. "And I was always going to kiss you that night." He smiled.

Caroline smiled back but suddenly felt a bit nervous. "You've hardly made any jokes today," she suddenly said.

"You're surprised I'd be serious on my wedding day?" Mac asked.

"Yes," Caroline said, her tone making it clear that wasn't something _Mac_ should be surprised about. "Apparently dying makes people serious," Caroline said.

"I'm not dying," Mac corrected her.

"No you're not," Caroline said and she stroked his cheek.

Mac laid his hand over hers. "I love you," he said.

Caroline looked a little shocked at the words. "And I love you, Paul."

Mac narrowed his eyes, "Just because you know my first name now, doesn't mean you should use it…," he looked around the car park. "Someone might hear. Not good for the reputation."

Caroline laughed. "That's why you've been so mysterious about it, isn't it? You're ashamed of your name. But I have to warn you, Holly might have told some people at the hospital as well."

"She might have, but they wouldn't believe her. You didn't, until I told you myself."

Caroline nodded, "That's true. And don't worry, I like Mac better anyway. But why are you ashamed of it?"

"Wouldn't you be if you were named after one of the Beatles? Even if you spell our names differently."

"You would rather have been named for one of the Kinks?" Caroline raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Mac smiled back at her, "Probably."

A sudden racket from the canteen caught their attention and Caroline just caught a glimpse of a seemingly naked Statham running after a laughing Boyce, who was running through the canteen, while holding a blanket in his hand. It waved behind him as a great plaited flag of victory as the entire canteen was shocked and entertained by the strange spectacle.

"See, they'll be fine on their own for a while," Mac said. He brushed back a lock of Caroline's hair and slowly leaned in. Their eyes met again. And with the laughter of their friends and colleagues filling the air, they kissed.


End file.
